Boy Who Reached for the Stars

<p><strong>Inspiring and joyous.--<em>People</em></strong></p><p><strong>Heartwarming . . . infectious . . . Morillo's <em>The Boy Who Reached for the Stars </em>is every bit the inspiration he means it to be.</strong>--<strong><em>Kirkus Reviews</em></strong></p><p><strong>The engineer known as the space mechanic speaks to both our future and past in this breathless memoir of his journey from Ecuador to NASA and beyond.</strong></p><p>Elio Morillo's life is abruptly spun out of orbit when economic collapse and personal circumstances compel his mother to flee Ecuador for the United States in search of a better future for her son. His itinerant childhood sets into motion a migration that will ultimately carry Elio to the farthest expanse of human endeavor: space.</p><p>Overcoming a history of systemic adversity and inequality in public education Elio forged ahead on a journey as indebted to his galactic dreams as to a loving mother whose sacrifices safeguarded the ground beneath his feet. Today Elio is helping drive human expansion into the solar system and promote the future of human innovation--from AI and robotics to space infrastructure and equitable access.</p><p><em>The Boy Who Reached the Stars </em>is both a cosmic and intimate memoir spun from a constellation of memories reflections and intrepid curiosity as thoroughly luminous as the stars above.</p>